Trevor Ishmael, Terry Easmon prove to be versatile, important pieces of a confident WMU football defense

Matt Gade | MLive.comWestern Michigan's Trevor Ishmael follows the receiver off the line during pass coverage drills during practice on Wednesday afternoon at Waldo Stadium.

KALAMAZOO – Western Michigan University’s defense has been walking tall since the first day of fall camp and Trevor Ishmael and Terry Easmon said the group left Illinois on Saturday with even more confidence.

Ishmael, a sophomore, and Easmon, a junior, helped the Broncos hold an Illinois offense to 248 total yards and 17 points, none of which came in the second half. Illinois scored a defensive touchdown in its 24-7 win Saturday.

“It was big for us because we have a new defensive coordinator (Rich Nagy) and a new defense,” Ishmael said. “We were flying all around in camp hitting the offense. We wanted to see how we would hold up against another team. We played a Big Ten opponent and people were doubting us, so it was big for us to do what we did. I was excited.”

Junior rover Johnnie Simon stood out as the star of the defensive effort with his 18 tackles, but Easmon and Ishmael, like many of WMU’s defenders, played big and versatile roles in the performance.

Ishmael played linebacker, safety, rover and was on special teams and finished with six tackles and a pass breakup Saturday.

“He was the one guy at the start of camp you’re trying to figure out where he fits,” WMU coach Bill Cubit said of the 6-foot-1, 197-pound Miami native. “He was good too of a player. He had to have a big role. He’s in different packages and I’m glad he played a lot of plays (Saturday) because when he’s in there he makes plays. He can play four different positions out there. It works out really well. I love the way he plays.”

Easmon finished second to Simon with 11 tackles from his outside linebacker position.

Ishmael said he was taking pointers from Easmon the first day the junior college transfer – American River College – from Sacramento, Calif. native arrived on campus in the spring.

“Terry Easmon, my first impression was that he was a big kid but he was able to move like a big safety,” Ishmael said of the 6-1, 225-pound Easmon. “He can play all the linebacker positions and he’s physical in the box. I watch him and try to take a few pointers. When I see him take on linemen I’m really amazed.”

Easmon said he’s comfortable playing in a defense that rallies to the ball, but he said the Broncos can’t start feeling too comfortable after one good performance.

“It gives us a lot of confidence, but we have to remain humble,” he said. “We have to stay fast and physical. It’s important because they say defense wins game. I feel that if our defense keeps stepping up the offense will eventually catch on and we’ll be set.”

Western Michigan coach Bill Cubit said both players are crucial to a defense that has a lot of moving parts and different looks.

“They can do so many different things in our defense that does so many different things,” Cubit said. “We put them in spots and they have a knack for finding the football. They both can run. They’re both smart. You match them up with Paul (Hazel) and you have three guys running around in there along with Bozeman.”

WMU’s defense will not have a cake walk Saturday against visiting FCS opponent Eastern Illinois. The Panthers put up 49 points and 522 yards of offense, 433 of which came through the air, in a lopsided win over Southern Illinois.

Ishmael said Saturday’s game will be a good measuring stick as the Broncos continue to gear up for a Mid-American Conference season that will see a lot of spread offenses and likely a lot of scoring.

“The MAC is crazy. There are a lot of close games and a lot of points,” he said. “We have to approach this game Saturday like every other game. We have to come out and read our keys. We have to be serious because this is like a test to see where we’re at.”